1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a unit for weighing and dispensing portions of food, more particularly but not exclusively cooked potato products such as chips/french fries.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the specification of our U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,097 and co-pending U.S. Pat. Application Ser. No. 119,301 there is disclosed a unit for weighing and dispensing portions of flowable food such as potato chips/french fries from a supply of such food, said unit comprising a receptacle for receiving said supply, a dispensing chamber opening into said receptacle, weighing means including a weighing platform disposed in said dispensing chamber and carried by a movable weighing support, and vibrator means coupled to a bottom wall of the receptacle for feeding food from the receptacle, into the dispensing chamber and onto the weighing platform, the weighing platform being retained in one position to receive the food and being releasable to move into another position to discharge food therefrom in accordance with a predetermined amount of movement of the weighing support corresponding to a preselected weight of food on the weighing platform.
The Applicants have found with weighing and dispensing units constructed as described above that, in certain instances, there is a possibility that the weighing means may weigh light. This is because the weighing movement of the weighing support continues uninterrupted until the weighing platform trips at the point of the preselected weight and thus can be urged suddenly downwards by, for example a heavier amount of food being fed into the platform, causing the latter to trip at a lighter weight than that to which the weighing means has been set.
Accordingly, it is the main object of the present invention to prevent the abovementioned possibility from, or substantially eliminate it, occurring.